Eighteen political prisoners in Iran’s Gohardasht Prison in Karaj condemned in an open letter the exile of political prisoners from their hometowns.
These prisoners in their letter explained that this act by the Iranian government’s officials was due to their fear and fury over the prisoners’ resistance and confronting the regime’s pressure to break the prisoner’s dignity.
They emphasized that these measures could not force prisoners to back down in pursuing their rights. These prisoners emphasized in their letter: “The security institutions and judges affiliated with these institutions have clearly found that the prison has not only failed to prevent political prisoners from struggling for their rights, but instead it has turned into the site and the place for continuing their struggles and resistance.”
Among the signature of the supporters of this letter, the names of prisoners such as Jafar Azadzadeh, Saeed Masouri, Soheil Arabia, Arash Sadeghi, Hassan Sadeghi and Mohammad Ali Mansouri, and etc. can be seen, many of whom have been in detention for a long time.
Full letter of the political prisoners
The letter by the 18 political prisoners in Gohardasht (Rajaishahr) prison is as follows:
“Letter of Political Prisoners of Karaj Rajaishahr Prison on the intensification of the intimidation of political prisoners:
Over the past months, despite the allegations of the highest judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic surrounding the rights of political prisoners, something that is actually and every day is occurring, is not the improving of the conditions of the prisoners, but also the intensification of repression and antagonism, while increasing the price of the prison, people who lost their patience and political actors at the political level in the community to be intimidated and felt subdued because of their repressive policies.
Transferring to solitary confinement, insulting and humiliation, beating, forming new cases, and issuing new sentences and exile to prisons away from the habitat and, etc. are among the methods of exercising pressure on prisoners and harassing their families, which has become more severe and wider in recent months.
The security institutions and judges affiliated with these institutions have clearly found that prison has not only failed to prevent political prisoners from struggling for their rights, but instead it has turned into the site and the place for continuing their struggles and resistance. And from behind its tall walls, every time the voice of their rights will be heard clearly, and the ignominy of the totalitarian rule can be seen.
They thought that with the aggravation of systematic abuse of prisoners and their families, and violating more their rights, they can force them to be silent and become passive. It is based on this, that they have decided with more harassment to exile the political prisoners to prisons far away from the place of their residence to prisons with crimes such as drugs, murder, and robbery etc.
Obviously, such actions will not lead us as political prisoners to retreat from the defense of our human rights, and it is showing the fear and horror of the rulers over our cries of justice, and it is the result of their political, economic, and social deadlocks.
Certainly, just as the use of repressive policies by the government has led to nothing, this time, these policies will lead to nothing too, and in advance, this policy is destined to fail.
Matlab Ahmadian, Mohammad Banazadeh Amir Khizi, Afshin Baymani, Jafar Azimzadeh, Arsham Rezaii, Arash Sadeghi, Hassan Sadeghi, Soheil Arabia, Abolqasem Fuladvand, Nasrollah Lenshi, Behnam Mousivand, Reza Mohamad Hosseini, Saeed Masouri, Ali Mousanejad, Farhad Maysami, Mohammad Ali Mansouri, Mehdi Meskinnavaz, and Arash Nasri.”
